By most accounts, next summer’s unrestricted free-agent class is stronger and deeper than the current one. With that in mind, let’s look at pending UFAs who, if still available and healthy, should draw considerable interest. (Of note, we’re not including current RFAs that could become UFAs, e.g. Shea Weber.)

Corey Perry (Anaheim) – Based on the contracts Ryan Suter and Zach Parise just signed, the 2011 Hart Trophy winner is set to cash in big time. Granted, it’s unlikely he’ll be able to get one of those long-term, front-loaded deals, as those are sure to be addressed in the new CBA. Perry will also want to improve on last season’s offensive totals (37G, 23A) and get them more in line with the ones he racked up in 2010-11 (50G, 48A).

Ryan Getzlaf (Anaheim) – Perry’s running mate, the big playmaking center already has Leafs fans thinking he could be the No. 1 center they’ve been looking for in Toronto. The Ducks will obviously want to bring both Perry and Getzlaf back; whether they can afford to is the question. (“I think it’s imperative for the hockey team [to get them signed],” GM Bob Murray said recently. ”We’ve reached out to the agents and that will be an ongoing process. I don’t think it’s going to happen overnight. But we’ve reached out to both sides.”)

Scott Hartnell (Philadelphia) – The 30-year-old power forward is coming off a career best 37-goal season, and as of now the Flyers have cap space to get something done. However, that could change quickly. Bobby Ryan has expressed a desire to be traded to Philly, Wayne Simmonds will need a raise, Kimmo Timonen is a pending UFA, and if Weber becomes available, GM Paul Holmgren is sure to be an aggressive suitor.

Jarome Iginla (Calgary) – He’s not getting any younger, but the Flames’ captain scored 30-plus goals for the 11th straight season in 2011-12. If the 35-year-old wants to leave Calgary for a contender – and as we all know, that’s a big if – teams will be lined up to bid on his services.

Alex Edler (Vancouver) – Sometimes he plays like a Norris Trophy candidate, other times he really, really doesn’t. Regardless, his 49 points were tied for sixth among NHL defensemen. The Canucks already have four d-men under contract until at least 2014-15 for a combined cap hit of $17.9 million, and they’re another team that’s expected to push hard for Weber. Plus, Alex Burrows is a pending UFA and deserves a steep raise. If GM Mike Gillis could trade Keith Ballard, it would make it a lot easier to reach a deal with Edler. What won’t be easy? Trading Ballard.

Mike Fisher (Nashville) – If there’s one guy the Predators should be able to lock up, it’s Fisher, aka Carrie Underwood’s husband. But if Fisher doesn’t feel like he can win a Stanley Cup in Nashville, you never know what he’ll decide. Every hockey player wants to win a championship, and Fisher hasn’t done that yet.

Patrik Elias (New Jersey) – It’s hard to picture the 36-year-old in anything but a Devils uniform considering he’s never worn another one. Elias is also a two-time Cup winner, so he can retire in peace when the day comes. Still, nobody wants to play for a loser, and after watching Zach Parise walk away, the Devils’ future is anything but clear. New Jersey’s other pending 2013 UFAs include Travis Zajac, David Clarkson and Dainius Zubrus.

Niklas Backstrom (Minnesota) – In case you didn’t hear, the Wild just increased its payroll rather significantly. It also recently re-signed Backstrom’s backup, Josh Harding, to a three-year deal. Add it up and the 34-year-old goalie may not fit in the team’s future plans. Backstrom’s save percentage was a respectable .919 in 2011-12. A repeat performance in 2012-13 and teams in need of a starter will have to look his way. (Assuming Jimmy Howard re-signs in Detroit, other pending UFA goalies include Mike Smith, Kari Lehtonen, Evgeni Nabokov, Jose Theodore and technically Tim Thomas.)

Michael Ryder (Dallas) – Only 10 players scored more than his 35 goals last season. Ryder was also one of the Bruins’ top offensive contributors during their 2011 Cup run, with 17 points in 25 playoff games despite seeing limited minutes. Of course, the Stars will likely do their best to re-sign the 32-year-old for a few more years given their aging group of forwards that includes two 40-year-olds in Ray Whitney and Jaromir Jagr.

Joffrey Lupul (Toronto) – The seventh overall pick in the 2002 draft got his career back on track last season, scoring 25 times and adding 42 assists playing on a line with Phil Kessel. The Leafs will want him back, but with Randy Carlyle behind the bench, will Lupul feel the same way? The two didn’t exactly see eye to eye during their time together in Anaheim.

The Los Angeles entered Monday’s game in Minnesota as one of the six teams in that chaotic scramble for one of the final three playoff spots still up for grabs in the Western Conference.

Trailing by a goal with less than a minute to play — after giving up three consecutive goals to squander what had been a two-goal lead — it seemed as if they were going to leave two important points on the table.

It was at that point that Dustin Brown sent the game to overtime with a late goal, setting the stage for Jeff Carter to score the game-winner in overtime and lifting the Kings to a 4-3 win.

It was Carter’s second goal of the game and continued his strong play since returning to the lineup in late February from injury. In 12 games since returning to the lineup Carter now has eight goals and 10 total points. The Kings are also now 7-4-1 with him back in the lineup. He is still an impact player and having him healthy is going to certainly be huge for the Kings down the stretch as they push for a playoff spot.

Make no mistake, this was a huge win for the Kings when it comes to getting that playoff spot. They entered the night with 84 points, tied with the Anaheim Ducks and Dallas Stars. The Kings were sitting in the second wild card spot due to tiebreaker but were able to jump back ahead of the Ducks for the third spot in the Pacific Division.

That means the Ducks fall into the second wild card spot, sitting two points ahead of the Stars and three points ahead of the St. Louis Blues. Colorado with 86 points is also very much in that group.

Speaking of the Avalanche, even though the Wild let a point slip away tonight by giving up the late goal and losing in overtime they still picked up point and were able to move four points ahead of the Avalanche for the No. 3 spot in the Central Division.

One day ago the Boston Bruins signed US Olympian Ryan Donato to an entry level contract.

On Monday, he was given an opportunity to immediately slide into their lineup against the Columbus Blue Jackets and he did not waste any time making an impact.

After recording four shots on goal in the first period, Donato broke through with his first NHL goal in the second period (on his fifth shot of the game) when he blasted a one-timer home on a give-and-go with Torey Krug.

All of that is happening against a Blue Jackets team that entered the night having won seven in a row, while the Bruins were playing without Patrice Bergeron, Rick Nash and Charlie McAvoy. Pretty deep team they have in Boston.

Donato added two more assists after scoring his first goal.

Unfortunately for the Bruins they were unable to hold on to that 3-1 lead and allowed Columbus to come from behind for the 5-4 overtime win.

Prior to signing with Bruins (and along with his time on the US Olympic team) Donato had been playing his collegiate hockey at Harvard. He scored 26 goals and added 17 assists in 29 games this season.

NBCSN’s coverage of the 2017-18 season continues on Monday night when the Los Angeles Kings visit the Minnesota Wild. Puck drop is scheduled for 8 p.m. ET. You can catch all of the action on NBCSN or on our Live Stream.

Much like the NFL’s headaches when it comes to what is or isn’t a catch, a simple stroll around Hockey Twitter will often unearth loud groans about goalie interference reviews. At least when people aren’t grumbling about offside goal reviews, that is.

From the viewpoints of reporters on hand for the latest round of GM meetings, it sounds like the league is at least attempting to sort out the latest mess.

Granted, you could sense some of the fatigue on this issue from what Lightning GM Steve Yzerman had to say about it, via NHL.com’s Dan Rosen:

“You can clarify the standards, but each referee and everyone, you and I, has a different opinion,” Yzerman said. “Within that room everyone has a little different opinion on did it impact the goaltender. It’s subjective. No one is ever going to agree 100 percent.”

Fair enough, but much of the frustration stems from the sheer confusion at hand, as there doesn’t seem to be a clear standard. It’s one thing to disagree with how an infraction is called, but at the moment, many feel like there’s far too much variation in calls.

With that in mind, some GMs apparently hope to tweak the process by, ideally, limiting the number of people who are making the snap decisions on goalie interference:

It sounds like they’re going to start centralizing the decisions on goaltender interference reviews out of the NHL’s video reviews. An attempt for more consistency.

By “centralizing,” it could mean leaving that decision to “The Situation Room,” as Rosen explains:

GMs and NHL have discussed a lot of options to potentially improve the review process for goalie interference to create more consistency, including putting an official in The Situation Room to having The Situation Room make the final call. (2)

The meetings reportedly included test cases for goalie interference, with Rosen noting that GMs and media alike had trouble reaching a consensus on certain examples. That helps to illuminate the challenge at hand, but again, many people would probably be at least a bit happier if it was easier to anticipate what would and would not be called as interference.

Quite a few numbers were thrown around about coaches challenges. ESPN’s Emily Kaplan shared a slide from the NHL that would argue that offside challenges have dropped off, likely because a failed challenge results in a delay of game penalty, but goalie interference remains a drag on the game.

For fans of the sport, it’s about walking the line between getting it right and not grinding too many games to a screeching halt. One might ponder carrying over the delay of game penalty to challenging goalie interference alongside offside reviews, but that might not fly:

One idea brought up today in GM mtgs was a 2-minute penalty for incorrect goaltender interference challenge. Colin Campbell didn't seem wild about it, since it's subjective and not black and white like offside. But penalty for offside has resulted in ~50 fewer challenges y/o/y.

Maybe Habs GM Marc Bergevin is correct in saying that just a small number of calls go wrong. Still, these challenges are slowing down games about two minutes at a time. That might not sound like much, though when it happens in the flow of an exciting back-and-forth contest, it can be a real killer.

Let’s hope they improve the process, even if it ends up being a work in progress.